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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28616535">Maybe If I Tell Myself Enough</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinchun/pseuds/sinchun'>sinchun</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>NCT Life in a Pack [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Lee Taeyong, Alpha Nakamoto Yuta, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Break Up, Claiming Bites, Friends With Benefits, Insecurity, Light Angst, Love Triangles, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Nakamoto Yuta-centric, Non-Explicit Sex, Omega Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Pack Dynamics, Unhealthy Relationships, but not really because they're mostly just, does everyone suck here? kind of, past? jaedo, side dotae - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:40:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,159</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28616535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinchun/pseuds/sinchun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuta knows he’s just a rebound. Despite all of Jaehyun’s claims about moving on, Yuta can tell that the younger boy isn’t over Doyoung. So why did he agree to exchange claiming bites with Jaehyun?</p><p>A sequel to "Your Scent On My Skin."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Nakamoto Yuta, Lee Taeyong &amp; Nakamoto Yuta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>NCT Life in a Pack [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043016</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Maybe If I Tell Myself Enough</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>You’ll want to have read <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28056648/chapters/68735928">Your Scent On My Skin</a> before this one, as this is a direct sequel/spinoff of it. (Though I suppose you can still follow this story without having read it.) Finally, it’s Yuta’s perspective on the Yuta-Jaehyun-Doyoung love (?) triangle.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yuta knows he’s just a rebound. Despite all of Jaehyun’s claims about moving on, Yuta can tell that the younger boy isn’t over Doyoung.</p><p>It’s in the little things. The way Jaehyun’s eyes light up when talking about their Rookies days. How he crosses his arms over himself in a protective manner whenever someone mentions any of the trainees from their group who were left out of 127. His tendency to cling close to Yuta then pull away in intervals that seem random but that Yuta suspects are directly correlated to Doyoung’s appearances on whatever shows the company has pushed him into.</p><p>It wouldn’t be obvious to anyone who didn’t know what to look for, but it’s obvious to Yuta.</p><p>So why did he agree to exchange claiming bites with Jaehyun? Because he felt bad for him? Because he understood the desire to feel wanted? Because he liked the fact that Jaehyun preferred him over Taeyong?</p><p>Look, Yuta adores Taeyong. He is a dear friend, an admirable group member, an attentive pack leader. But Yuta cannot deny that he feels a sense of competition with him. Is it the natural desire to compare their skills as dancers and performers, or does it stem from their alpha biology? Yuta genuinely isn’t sure.</p><p><em>Everything was so much simpler we were pups. </em>Taeyong had presented not long after the two of them became trainees, but it didn’t really mean anything to Yuta until he also presented as an alpha a year later. They were the only two alphas in their cohort, and Yuta felt constantly aware of the fact.</p><p>It probably didn’t help that for a while, there was only one omega in their group. And Ten had chosen to spend his heats with Taeyong because he had presented first—or maybe just because he was inherently better than Yuta somehow. The feelings of inferiority only intensified when the two claimed each other. “I just think it’s a little self-centered of Taeyong to fucking put a claiming bite on the only omega we know,” Yuta had groused to Taeil more than once.</p><p>But then Jaehyun had presented. And Jaehyun had chosen him. Not one of the older betas. Not Taeyong. He had wanted Yuta, and from that moment on, he was forever going to be lodged in Yuta’s heart as someone special.</p><p>Even when Jaehyun and Doyoung went on to couple up and claim each other, Yuta always held a certain fondness for Jaehyun. Why else would he have agreed to help him with his heat that one time when they were still trainees, despite the extreme discomfort of Doyoung hovering around them the entire time like the embodiment of jealousy itself?</p><p>Sometimes Yuta thinks he should have said no when Doyoung had asked him to help Jaehyun. Because he’s pretty sure that him saying yes then was the main reason why Jaehyun decided to pursue him after debuting with 127 separated him from Doyoung.</p><p>It’s not that Yuta didn’t like Jaehyun pursuing him. He quite enjoyed the attention, and stealing away into empty practice rooms to make out was certainly fun, but he wasn’t sure how healthy it was for Jaehyun.</p><p>And yet when Jaehyun outright asked to exchange claiming bites with him, Yuta found himself unable to say no. Because, well, how could he turn down such an obvious sign of being desirable? The ugly, insecure part of Yuta relished the surprised look on Taeyong’s face when the other alpha first noticed that he and Jaehyun were claiming. It’s selfish but true. And why should Yuta feel bad for using Jaehyun to make himself feel better when he knows that Jaehyun is using him for the same purpose?</p><p><em>We make quite the pair,</em> he thinks wryly, snuggled up in bed with the beta who isn’t exactly his boyfriend, but maybe something like it. It probably isn’t sustainable, he knows, even as they continue to maintain their claiming bites. He figures there’s going to be a breaking point eventually, but for now, Yuta sees nothing wrong with him and Jaehyun finding solace in each other’s company.</p><p>When management tells them that they’re adding Johnny and Doyoung to the 127 lineup, Yuta immediately looks for Jaehyun’s reaction. The younger boy’s eyes are wide, his mouth hanging open in shock.</p><p><em>It can’t be </em>that<em> surprising, can it?</em> thinks Yuta, frowning. <em>The whole NCT premise was always marketed around the concept of forever expanding, and Doyoung did the original U promotion, so of course he was going to come back sooner or later.</em></p><p>The impending addition to the group is all the pack can talk about for the next few days. Taeyong, especially, seems cheered by the news. He makes brunch for everyone on Saturday, happily drizzling extra maple syrup onto the pancakes as he passes out plates.</p><p>“Somebody’s in a good mood,” teases Yuta.</p><p>“I’m excited for Johnny and Doyoung to join the pack,” Taeyong replies with a dazzling grin, and oh right. Of course he’s thinking about the pack. He <em>is</em> the lead alpha.</p><p>Yuta doesn’t begrudge him the position. Really, he doesn’t. He has no interest in the added responsibilities of leadership. But boy if it doesn’t just lean in right on all of his weird insecurities about feeling like a lesser alpha than Taeyong. “Mm, yes, it seems past time they joined,” he agrees.</p><p>Taeyong beams. “Especially Doyoung. It felt so weird after all of the U stuff that he didn’t get to be in 127 from the beginning,” he says and nudges Jaehyun, who’s sitting next to him. “I’m sure you must miss him as much as I do.”</p><p>Jaehyun fidgets, eyes fixed stubbornly on his hands. “We don’t talk much these days,” he mumbles.</p><p>“Is Doyoungie that busy?” asks Taeyong innocently.</p><p>Yuta has to resist the urge to laugh. If nothing else, at least he can feel a sense of superiority over Taeyong for actually being aware of Jaehyun and Doyoung’s history. He doesn’t know how but the other alpha never picked up the claiming bites between the two of them. <em>It’s almost impressive, the way he still thinks they were nothing more than best friends.</em></p><p>Jaehyun bites his lip. “Yeah, I think he’s been busy,” he tells Taeyong, and Yuta wonders how no one else can hear the obvious lie.</p><p>After brunch, Yuta and Jaehyun curl up in the latter’s room to watch a movie together. It feels like a date, which means that it feels like a farce, but Yuta still plays along. He holds Jaehyun’s hand and kisses his cheek and tries to imagine what it would be like if they were actually in love instead of just pretending.</p><p>He cares so deeply about Jaehyun, just not in that way. He recognizes that it’s probably for the best, because he can tell from Jaehyun’s restlessness that despite their claiming bites, his heart still belongs to Doyoung. Even if Jaehyun says that they don’t really talk anymore.</p><p>Partway through the movie, Jaehyun heads to the bathroom when his phone, charging on the bedside table next to Yuta, lights up with a notification. Yuta doesn’t mean to snoop. He glances down instinctively when the alert goes off. Then he stares and taps the screen to stop the notification from disappearing.</p><p>It’s a message from Doyoung. His contact info is saved in Jaehyun’s phone simply as “DY” and Yuta just knows that it must be about the fact that he’s going to be joining 127. What else could it be about?</p><p>Yuta doesn’t open the message. He doesn’t know Jaehyun’s passcode so he wouldn’t be able to even if he wanted. He doesn’t ask Jaehyun about it. But a week later, the message is still in the back of his mind, festering like an open wound. Because if Doyoung messaged Jaehyun about joining 127, then that means the two of them are talking about the fact that they’ll be reunited with each other soon, right? And once Jaehyun and Doyoung are reunited with each other, they’ll have no reason not to get back together. Scheduling won’t be an issue anymore.</p><p>And where will that leave Yuta?</p><p>He feels like he’s walking on eggshells around Jaehyun, waiting for him to announce that he doesn’t want to keep maintaining their claiming bites. <em>Why would he?</em> thinks Yuta bitterly. <em>His beloved Doyoung is returning to him.</em></p><p>But Jaehyun doesn’t say anything about it.</p><p>It confuses Yuta to no end.</p><p>Impossibly, things get weirder when they have their first dance rehearsal with Doyoung and Johnny. Jaehyun is closed off and cagey, everything in his body language screaming guilt as he avoids coming close to Doyoung. Yuta can read a confused hurt in Doyoung’s eyes, but he suspects he’s the only one who notices. No one else is paying attention, too focused on learning the new choreography their dance instructor is teaching them.</p><p>Yuta sees the exact moment Doyoung realizes what’s going on. The pre-chorus choreography moves him between Yuta and Jaehyun, and Doyoung’s shoulders stiffen. <em>He can smell Jaehyun’s claim on me,</em> Yuta knows, <em>or mine on him.</em> Either way, Doyoung fumbles the next steps, clearly shaken. Clearly surprised.</p><p><em>Oh, Jaehyun,</em> thinks Yuta, throwing a rueful glance at the younger boy. <em>You didn’t tell him?</em></p><p>Jaehyun’s gaze is fixed miserably on the floor, and Doyoung isn’t able to look at either of them for the rest of the morning. Yuta can sense the anger and resentment rolling off of him in waves.</p><p>When Yuta returns to the practice room after their afternoon break, he stumbles across an unexpected scene. Or maybe he should’ve expected it. Jaehyun and Doyoung sitting on the floor together with their hands stretching towards each other, until the sound of the door opening startles them, and Jaehyun scrambles away from Doyoung, looking ashamed.</p><p>Yuta can’t tell if the shame is directed towards Doyoung or him.</p><p>He’s still waiting for the moment Jaehyun decides to go back to Doyoung. It’s bound to happeneventually. He’s sure of it.</p><p>But instead, over the course of the next few weeks, he watches Jaehyun continue to avoid Doyoung, and he feels like he’s fallen into some parallel universe. Maybe Jaehyun actually likes him better than Doyoung? It seems implausible, but could it be true? Does Yuta even want it to be true?</p><p>He cherishes Jaehyun as a friend and packmate, and he’s certainly attracted to him sexually, but he isn’t in love with him. He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life with him or anything. And he knows that Jaehyun isn’t in love with him either, so why do they continue to give each other claiming bites? Is it so they can pretend?</p><p>Yuta knows that it’s not a sustainable relationship. He just doesn’t know when the breaking point is going to come.</p><p>Recording and practicing for their comeback keeps them all busy. As with their first mini album, Taeyong and Mark contribute some of the lyrics. There’s one song in particular that Taeyong is extra excited about, a rap-heavy one mostly just for him and Mark, though they pull Taeil, Doyoung, and Haechan in for some additional vocals in the chorus.</p><p>“It’s a little more… provocative than our usual fare,” Taeyong tells Yuta.</p><p>Doyoung lets out a mirthless snort. “That’s one way to put it.”</p><p>The three of them are roommates in their new dorm. Yuta knows it’s the only combination that makes sense—he understands why the betas should room together—but it still feels oppressive to him, sharing his room with the only two members in the pack that can manage to get under his skin. The only silver lining is that it makes him the number one witness to what appears to be a needlessly complicated courtship, with Taeyong first teasing then indulging Doyoung in turn and Doyoung wavering between holding Taeyong at arm’s length and looking after him with the tenderest care imaginable. It’s hilariously entertaining to watch.</p><p>As for the song in question? Yuta almost laughs when he hears the chorus. <em>Yeah,</em> he thinks with a wry smile. <em>I don’t like it when Doyoung comes around.</em> Or maybe it’s Doyoung who doesn’t like it when he comes around. Either way, the only thing that would make it more fitting would be if Jaehyun were the one singing it.</p><p>Promoting <em>Limitless </em>is exhausting work. The dreamies have their own comeback to think about—Yuta worries incessantly about Mark and Haechan pulling double duty, and can tell he isn’t the only one—but the pack still functions as safety net and support group for everyone. The back-to-back stages, interviews, and shows wear on them, but at the end of the day, they all come home together.</p><p>Yuta is loath to admit it, but Doyoung’s addition to the pack has been a blessing. His omega status, the only one in the pack, brings them a sense of balance they were missing before. In return, everyone adores him. Even Yuta, whose complicated feelings towards him have been boiled down to a mix of jealousy and pity—because he’s noticed the heartbroken longing looks Doyoung still sends after Jaehyun—finds himself inclined to acquiesce to whatever the omega asks of him.</p><p>Except. Well. Doyoung is annoying too. When he has his first heat after joining the pack, he drives everyone nuts by refusing to ask for anyone to keep him company. <em>Literally everyone wants to help him,</em> grumbles Yuta internally, <em>and he pulls this stubborn shit? What is he trying to prove?</em></p><p>Taeyong looks beyond frustrated by it, but Jaehyun looks worse. Yuta can tell that the smell of Doyoung’s heat, despite being mostly contained to his room, is driving him up the wall. <em>He wants to go to him,</em> Yuta knows. Even though the two of them have barely been speaking since being reunited, it’s clear that Jaehyun feels physically pained by his inability to be with Doyoung right now.</p><p>Yuta runs away to the Dream dorm and tries not to feel too satisfied when Jaehyun follows not long after. Jaehyun still seems miserable though, going as far as to actually whimper when Yuta pulls him in to give him a comforting cuddle. <em>Don’t be so obvious</em>, Yuta wants to snap. The dreamies are in the living room with them, and Chenle is watching them in a curious way that makes Yuta wonder just how much the pup is picking up on.</p><p>Eventually Taeyong joins them, bearing the news that Winwin is helping Doyoung with his heat. Yuta tries not to smirk at the jealousy he can detect underneath the other alpha’s words.</p><p>Jaehyun bolts upright. “He asked for Winwin?” he demands, and good lord, he sounds jealous too.</p><p>Yuta can’t help scowling. <em>What’s so great about Doyoung? Just because he’s an omega?</em> It’s infuriating. He can never seem to win against Taeyong as an alpha and now he loses out to Doyoung’s precious omega status too? There’s no justice in the world.</p><p>“Winwin just took it upon himself to venture into Doyoung’s room because he couldn’t stand smelling his distress anymore,” explains Taeyong, which is an unexpectedly gutsy move on Winwin’s part.</p><p>Still, Yuta doesn’t miss the way Jaehyun’s mouth twists like he’s just tasted something unpleasant when they see Doyoung and Winwin emerge together from Doyoung’s room at the end of his heat. “You made everyone worry about you,” Jaehyun tells Doyoung stiffly, “when you didn’t asked for help.”</p><p>Doyoung narrows his eyes at him. “Sorry,” he offers in a flat voice. “I didn’t mean to make anyone worry.”</p><p>Honestly, it’s amazing that no one other than Yuta seems to be aware of the fact that they’re exes—or something like it—because they make it so damn obvious.</p><p>The next time Doyoung’s heat comes around, he saves them all the trouble by immediately asking for Taeyong. The lead alpha is, of course, thrilled to pieces over it, and from Jaehyun’s room, Yuta can hear him lavishing praise on Doyoung as they fuck. <em>Disgusting,</em> thinks Yuta with a good-natured eye roll. He snuggles closer to Jaehyun, who thankfully manages to look less devastated this time around.</p><p>Their schedules calm down the further away they get from <em>Limitless</em>’s release and initial promotion period. They still do the occasional show. They still have concerts and performances, but it has less of a frenetic energy to it, which is a nice change of pace.</p><p>In Yuta’s mind, dancing is the best part of being an idol, and he likes the choreography for their title track. There’s a moment at the top of the bridge, when Jaehyun stands in the center flanked on either side Yuta and Doyoung, and Yuta can’t help but think that it feels symbolic. The choreography sends Doyoung out after Jaehyun, which also feelings rather telling, even if in real life, he seems to be gravitating towards Taeyong in the wake of his estrangement from Jaehyun.</p><p><em>Maybe they really are done with each other,</em> thinks Yuta when they come offstage after a particularly grueling performance. He and Jaehyun lean comfortably against each other as they catch their breath, and across the room, Doyoung shakes a bottle of water in Taeyong’s face until the leader promises to drink it. <em>Maybe they’re both actually moving on.</em></p><p>Still, whenever it’s time for his rut, Yuta always goes to Jaehyun’s room. He doesn’t like the idea of being with Jaehyun in his own room—after all, he shares it with Doyoung, and the thought of Jaehyun going into heat in a room that smells like Doyoung just doesn’t sit right with him.</p><p>It’s only later, after Doyoung moves into the Dream dorm, swapping with Mark because he and Haechan are at each other’s throats fighting all the time, that Yuta starts allowing himself to bring Jaehyun to his own room for his ruts. He wonders if Jaehyun notices the timing, if he’s picked up on the reason why. <em>Is my jealousy as obvious to him as his holdover lovesickness is to me?</em></p><p>He knows it’s stupid. It’s petty. It’s possessive. <em>But don’t I have a right to be? </em>he thinks in an irritated tone that sounds suspiciously like Doyoung did back in 2015. <em>I’ve claimed him. </em>Jaehyun doesn’t ask him about it, and Yuta doesn’t bring it up, because why would they start actually talking about their relationship now?</p><p>It’s not sustainable. Yuta knows this. He can sense that the breaking point must be coming soon. He just isn’t sure how it will happen, until suddenly it does.</p><p>Jeno, freshly presented and still adjusting to his new status as an alpha, accidentally upends the pack by not tracking his cycle. He’s in the middle of dinner at the 127 dorm when his rut begins, and his pheromones send all the betas present into heat.</p><p>Yuta can’t help but growl at him. “Be more careful in the future,” he warns. It’s not that he doesn’t want to take care of Jaehyun in heat, but it’s just kind of a drag to have four betas all wound up and wanting at once. Thank god Johnny hadn’t been in the dorm when it happened, though Doyoung has to call him home to ask if he can help Taeil while Taeyong takes care of Winwin. Jaehyun and Jaemin both have their claiming partners, and despite his frustration with Jeno over his carelessness, Yuta can’t help but think it’s sweet the way he and Jaemin obviously dote on each other. They’re what a real couple should be, not this extended farce that Yuta and Jaehyun have been putting on for over a year.</p><p>He strokes a comforting hand over Jaehyun’s sweaty brow as he promises to soothe the beta’s heat pangs. “Let’s get you knotted, baby,” he murmurs, taking him back to Jaehyun’s room.</p><p>Jaehyun whimpers gratefully. He presses himself to Yuta, begs quietly for his touch.</p><p>Yuta gives it to him. He does everything he can for Jaehyun to make his heat more bearable. Kissing him messily, he all but carries the younger boy to the bed, his hands already working to remove his clothes.</p><p>“Alpha, please, I need you,” Jaehyun mumbles into Yuta’s mouth.</p><p>“You have me,” Yuta assures him, bringing one hand down between the beta’s legs and the other up to make a fist in his hair.</p><p>Jaehyun whines and bucks his hips frantically. “Unf, please,” he moans.</p><p>Yuta keeps a tight grip on Jaehyun’s hair when he fucks him. “Such a good boy for me,” he croons. He’s not just saying it. Jaehyun really is very good for him, always so quick to do what he’s told if it means he’ll get complimented for it. Privately, Yuta suspects that the beta has something of praise kink.</p><p>During a moment when Jaehyun says that his heat feels a little more manageable, Yuta slips out to take a shower and fix them some food. When he gets back, he sees that Jaehyun pulled together a slapdash nest of sorts with blankets and clothing. Jaehyun himself is curled up in the middle of it, looking as pleased as could be.</p><p>Yuta has always been fascinated by the nesting habits of omegas and betas. The urge to surround yourself with comforting scents is adorable, isn’t it? He smiles, kisses Jaehyun, then offers him the food he’s brought.</p><p>It’s easy with Jaehyun. Comfortable. Being with him is familiar. <em>Maybe,</em> thinks Yuta, feeding a bite of kimchi to the younger boy, <em>maybe this is why we’re still maintaining our claiming bites.</em> Because it’s nice to have that stability in your life.</p><p>When Jaehyun’s heat gets worse again, they set the food aside and go back to bed.</p><p>After all of their time together, they’ve fallen into a comfortable pattern with the way they have sex. Yuta calls Jaehyun “baby,” and Jaehyun calls Yuta “alpha,” and they gasp and fumble their way to a few more orgasms.</p><p>Heats never last as long for betas, and Jaehyun’s ends late into the evening of the next day. He stretches and announces his urgent need to take a shower. “I’m so sweaty,” he complains. “Honestly, I think the worst part of heat might be how fucking <em>hot</em> it makes me.”</p><p>Yuta laughs and smacks Jaehyun playfully on the ass. “Go shower,” he tells him, voice warm with affection.</p><p>Jaehyun presses a soft kiss to Yuta’s lips before heading to the bathroom.</p><p>While he showers, Yuta makes to change the sheets on his bed, before deciding that it’s late enough that they should just put off doing the laundry until tomorrow. He’s tucking the corner of the fitted sheet back onto the mattress when something in the mess of Jaehyun’s nest catches his eye.</p><p>The white oversized tee-shirt looks innocent enough, but Yuta’s nose tells him better. It belongs to Doyoung. Further searching turns up a hoodie that Yuta also recognizes as Doyoung’s. Yuta’s breath catches in his throat. He holds the shirt and hoodie in his hands and tries to figure how he feels about it.</p><p>He knows that Jaehyun hasn’t done anything to the contrary of their claiming bite, hasn’t actually been with Doyoung, but the discovery that he’s pulled some of Doyoung’s clothing into his nest feels like a slap in the face anyways. <em>It’s been almost two years, and Jaehyun is still looking to Doyoung’s scent for comfort,</em> he thinks, and numbly recognizes that the realization leaves him feeling relieved more than sad.</p><p>
  <em>Maybe it’s finally time to stop pretending.</em>
</p><p>When Jaehyun returns from the shower, Yuta is quick to shove Doyoung’s clothing back in with the rest of the nest. He doesn’t want Jaehyun to know he was snooping. He especially doesn’t want Jaehyun to connect what he’s about to do with Doyoung. He looks at Jaehyun, admires his handsome face and the sharp lines of his body, and wonders vaguely if it will hurt.</p><p>Jaehyun notices his lingering gaze. “Like what you see?” he teases, as he rummages around in his dresser for a pair of pajama pants.</p><p>“You are lovely,” agrees Yuta. He’s never lied to Jaehyun, not really, and doesn’t plan on starting now. Jaehyun is undeniably attractive. He watches out of the corner of his eye as the younger boy drops his towel to pull on his pajamas. Yuta’s eye catches on the faded scab of his claiming bite on the back of his thigh. <em>Maybe it will be like pulling off a bandaid,</em> he muses.</p><p>Deep in his bones, he knows that the bandaid has already fallen off, peeled slowly away months ago. Or maybe there was never any bandaid to begin with. Or maybe this whole analogy is stupid, and Yuta shouldn’t waste anymore time thinking about it. He just should just do it.</p><p>Jaehyun joins him on the bed, curling up against him, and Yuta instinctively puts his arm around him, even as he opens his mouth to say, “I think we should let our claim lapse.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh, Yuta sweetie, breaking up with someone immediately post-sex is NOT IT.</p><p>I hope you enjoyed this follow up to "Your Scent On My Skin." I live for comments :)</p><p>There’s one more longer fic coming that will resolve Jaehyun’s love life in this series, but first I’m probably going to do one or two shorter fics about the dreamies and WayV. (And maybe that doyu fic alluded to in <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28001616">This Moment Is A Good Thing (You're Looking At Me)</a>?)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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